Broken Music Box
by Taiyou-midnight127
Summary: Naruto's dear friend is in a coma. Naruto wants Sasuke to wake up to a nice present so he decided to give him a music box but to find a unwanted surprise. Character Death? Depressing if you want my opinion XD
1. Return

"Sasuke"

Naruto sat there looking at his bandaged friend. Looking at how weak he looks, and wondering what had happened to the boy.

It has been 5 days since Sasuke came back to the village after 3 years. Ever since he did Naruto has been wondering: _'Did I keep my promise? Was _I_ the one who brought Sasuke back? Or was it something else?'_

_

* * *

_

**5 days ago**

"Naruto, Naruto, NARUTO!"

"Ughhhh"

"Naruto wake up!" Sakura banged at the door, urging Naruto to wake up.

"Five more minutes," It was dragged out but Sakura understood what her teammate was trying to say. Naruto had slept late last night. He was trying to clean up his room since Sakura scolded him that his room needs to be cleaner. It was really tiring. He had clothes lying on the floor, scrolls everywhere, and he really needed to clean out the fridge (milk that was way past its expiry date). After he had clean up a little he fell asleep right away.

"Naruto it's urgent! C'mon! Sasuke's back!"

"…WHAT?!?!?!?!? Owww!"

'_Fell off the bed'_ Sakura thought rubbing her temples in disbelief on how clumsy Naruto was.

Naruto ran to the door fumbling on the doorknob, not remembering how to open it. After a few tries, he finally opened it.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!?"

Sakura covered her ears trying to block out Naruto's loud plea for and answer. "I said Sasuke is back! Lady Tsunade said to-"

Before Sakura can finish, Naruto slammed the door in her face and ran back to his room and got dressed. He didn't want to take too long so he wore his black t-shirt with his usual swirl, orange pants and black sandals. _'Sasuke's back!'_

Naruto quickly ran to the door opening it. Sakura was standing outside, furious. "You could've slammed the door harder, so you can give me a concussion. That way I won't SLAUTER YOU!" Sakura said angrily. "Oops, sorry," rubbing the back of his neck as an apology was heard from Naruto.

Jumping from roof top to roof top. Getting to the Hokage mansion as fast as they could, Naruto and Sakura were thinking of Sasuke.

'_Sasuke. He's finally back after 3 years. Sasuke,' _Sakura thought.

'_Sasuke, that idiot leaving for so long and then suddenly coming back on such short notice." _Naruto thought.

Once they reached the Hokage Mansion, they were greeted by Kotetsu and Izumo. "Hey guys, here to see Lady Tsunade?" Kotetsu said while carrying a few boxes. "Yeah, Sakura said that Sasuke was back and that we needed to see Grandma Tsunade" Naruto said while walking up the stairs that encircled the mansion.

"What are the boxes for?" Sakura wondered . "Oh, they're boxes filled with empty sake bottles that Tsunade-sama left in the office." Izumo replied. "That Hokage can really drink" Kotetsu laughed. "We gotta go now" Sakura waved them goodbye. Naruto followed Sakura and waved back to the two chunin.

* * *

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune ran into the room.

"What is it Shizune?" Tsunade wanted and answer. Considering that Shizune seemed to have urgent news.

Heavily breathing, Shizune answered.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Naruto and Sakura came in through the door. "Grandma Tsunade, Where's Sasuke?"

Tsunade looked at Naruto sadly. She sighed. "Naruto, Something has come up and Sasuke…well."

"What do you mean?" Sakura said suddenly becoming worried

"The ANBU that found him outside the village said that Sasuke was ok, but Shizune and the medical corps examined him more thoroughly and found out that he had put a genjutsu upon himself to hide the wounds that he had." Tsunade explained.

Shizune added some more details. "The wounds were serious. He's currently in a life threatening situation."

Sakura looked like that she was going to cry.

Silence closed in on them. It was suffocating. One that was long and filled with worry and sadness. It was as silent as that day on the bridge in the Land of Waves.


	2. He Pulled Through

**Intensive Care no. 8**

"Naruto"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Sasuke will be okay?" Sakura cried into her hands.

Naruto thought for a moment. _'If I had been stronger…then I would've brought him back sooner. Then he wouldn't have gotten hurt'_

"Yes, Sasuke is strong. He'll make it through," Naruto grinned his famous grin.

"Sakura!" Ino ran around the corner to see Sakura

"Ino," Sakura stood up to see her friend.

"Is Sasuke really back?" Ino asked looking at the door that separated them from Sasuke, "Yes, but he is seriously injured. Lady Tsunade and Shizune are taking care of him" They both sat down waiting. I was silent again.

"We have to focus!" Tsunade commanded. "Get me more medicine!"

"Yes, Lady Tsunade!" Shizune ran into the other room in search of more medicine.

Tsunade knew how it felt to lose someone close. She didn't want Naruto to feel the same way she did before when she couldn't save Nawaki and Dan. Naruto has already been through a lot of pain and suffering. Tsunade knew that Sasuke was close to Naruto, that's why he trained so hard just to get Sasuke back.

It had only been a short while after the village was rebuilt after Pain attacked. She just recovered a few days ago. She needed all the concentration she could conjure up to heal Sasuke.

"They've been in there for a long time. I hope he's ok,"

"He's going to be okay, Sakura," Ino said reassuringly, putting a hand on her friend's back.

Sakura noticed how silent Naruto has been, "Naruto you've been really quiet, are you okay?"

"…" He had his together, pressed on to his forehead with his elbows on his knees.

"Naruto?"

"I'm praying," Naruto replied in a shaky voice. "And so I pray to the previous Hokage, that our lords will look over the village and grant Sasuke this hope." Naruto continued his prayers out loud.

Sakura sighed. _'Maybe Naruto is taking this more maturely than me'_

"Seems like forever since I saw Sasuke"

"Kakashi-sensei" Sakura said, shocked at the sudden appearance

"And Sai," Ino added

"How is he?" Kakashi asked casually, flipping to the next page of 'Make-out Tactics'

"We're not sure, I wanted to go in and help, but Lady Tsunade said that a lot of chakra was needed, and since I don't have that…" Sakura said grimly

"It's going to be okay, Sakura-chan," Sai sat down beside Sakura.

The door opened. All eyes looked up…except for Naruto's.

Tsunade sighed. "Sasuke's out of the danger zone for now, but we won't know what will happen next…"

"Sasuke had 3 broken ribs, his scull was cracked open and one of his ribs had pierced one of his major organs," Shizune explained while wiping sweat off her forehead with her sleeve. "But good thing that we stopped the internal bleeding on time."

Sighs of relief filled the room. The only person who didn't make a sound was Naruto.

Naruto's POV

I felt a hand on my shoulder. Everything was silent in my ears. All I heard was muffled sounds against my eardrums.

"Naruto"

I'm pretty sure that was Sakura. Ino? I'm not sure, all I could think right now was how grateful I was to hear that Sasuke was alive. _'Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!'_

"Naruto are you ok?" That was Ino.

I looked up, seeing a circle of people staring at me. "Are you ok, Naruto? You look like you've been crying" Sai asked me.

"Uh, I'm ok." I wiped off the tears that remained on my face, and smiled, "I'm just fine"

Kakashi turned to see Tsunade. "Can we see Sasuke?" Tsunade crossed her arms. "Yes, but only for a while, not too long."

Shizune lead them to Sasuke's room. She opened the door for them. Sakura sat down next to Sasuke. Ino and Sai stood next to the bed. Kakashi stood at the doorway. But for Naruto, he stayed outside.

Kakashi noticed Naruto standing alone outside. "Hm? Naruto why aren't you going inside? Don't you want to see Sasuke?" Naruto was startled by the question. "Uh, yeah." Naruto walked inside.

"He looks so weak," Sakura whispered, barely heard.

Naruto sat down and watched Sasuke's chest rise and drop again.

**The next day**

_Knock, knock_

"Come in!"

"Naruto, you came even earlier than me. Impressive." Sakura gave Naruto a smile.

"Well, I had nothing to do and Grandma Tsunade said that she's keeping me off missions so I can take care of Sasuke. You too?" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I also brought some flowers and a vase." The vase was white with green and blue flowery printings on it. Sakura put the bright yellow daffodils in the vase, then sat down.

Naruto sat there looking at the Uchiha. It was a beautiful day outside. It was raining yesterday, but now the sun is shining, the clouds are white and there was a gentle breeze to be felt. As the sunlight touched Sasuke's face, it occurred to Naruto that he looked better than before. _'I never really realized it but…Sasuke looks handsome in the sun.'_ He mentally slapped himself for thinking that way. Naruto blushed at the thought.

"Are you ok? You look a bit red." Sakura felt his forehead for any signs of a fever. "I-I'm fine." Naruto said brushing Sakura's hand off his forehead and smiled. "Well if you feel anything, let me know." Sakura went back to watering the plants outside the hospital window.


	3. Feelings

**The Next Day**

"Hey, Naruto!" Shikamaru said as he entered Ichiraku Ramen.

Naruto stopped slurping his ramen and looked up from his bowl. "Shikamaru? Hi." Shikamaru sat down beside his friend. "I heard that Sasuke is back." Naruto slurped more ramen. "Huh? Yeah he came back just 2 days ago." Naruto stopped eating. "He's in the hospital right now."

"You want anything, Shikamaru?" Ayame asked.

"Oh, yes," Shikamaru ordered his ramen. They ate, talked and laughed a bit, recalling their memories had of when they were at the academy.

They finished up their ramen and gave the money to Teuchi. Naruto then left, and headed to the hospital. Shikamaru came along, knowing that Naruto was going to visit Sasuke.

On their way, the stopped at the Yamanaka flower shop to buy more flowers for Sasuke.

"Hi, Shikamaru and Naruto," Ino said smiling. "Are you guys buying flowers?" Ino was watering some pink camellias. Naruto looked at some flowers across the room. "I don't know I was just following Naruto. I thought he was going to the hospital." Shikamaru answered unsurely.

"Ino, which flower best shows strong bonds?" Naruto asked.

"Well, the Iris shows meanings of friendship. Do you want that?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered not making eye contact with Ino.

"Ok, I'll get you some." She went to the back room and came back with paper with flowery designs on it. She then wrapped the Irises in the paper and tied it with a red ribbon.

"Here you go," Ino handed the flowers to Naruto. Then he paid Ino.

Then they walked off to the hospital.

"Is Sasuke doing any better?" Naruto stopped, and thought. "He's… still sleeping." Shikamaru detected some sadness in his voice. "He's still unconscious? I see." Naruto turned to face Shikamaru and smiled with his arms behind his head, "He'll wake up soon."

--

"Hello, Naruto, came to see Sasuke?" The nurse at the front desk asked, while looking at some papers. "Yeah. Is Sasuke doing better than yesterday?"

The nurse stopped and answered, "No, actually Lady Tsunade is checking up on him right now." Naruto looked down at his feet. Naruto felt a little sad hearing that his treasured friend isn't getting any better. He closed his eyes and smiled at the nurse. "Thanks for updating on Sasuke. We'll be going up to see Sasuke then." They walked up the stairs to Sasuke's room.

Naruto was afraid. Very afraid. He was scared that he would lose Sasuke again. But instead losing to vengeance, he was afraid to lose to death. Death might take Sasuke away. Naruto knows that Sasuke's injuries were serious. That made him worry even more. But If Sasuke woke up right now, everything will be ok again. Naruto sighed before opening the door.

Naruto peeked in, to see Tsunade checking some papers. She heard some noise behind her and turned around. "Naruto and Shikamaru, checking up on Sasuke?" She sat down on a chair next to the bed. Naruto and Shikamaru walked in. "Yes, Is Sasuke ok?" Naruto asked not making eye contact with Tsunade, instead he was looking at Sasuke. Tsunade sighed. "Not much better than yesterday, I'm afraid. His injuries are healing. His breathing is still off; his lungs don't seem to want to cooperate." Tsunade put away the papers in a beige bag. "I'll be in the room to the right just in case you need me." She waved and left the room.

Naruto walked over to Sasuke's bed. He replaced the wilting daffodils with Irises and watered them. _'I hope that Sasuke won't be like the wilting daffodils.'_ He sat down on Sasuke's bed next to him.

"Hi, Sasuke," Naruto sounded like he was telling a child that everything was going to be okay. He ran his hand through Sasuke's dark raven-like hair, loving the feel of the texture.

"Naruto."

The blond flinched at Shikamaru's voice. Naruto forgot that Shikamaru was still there. "Seems like that Sasuke is a really good friend to you." Naruto looked down feeling the blood rush to his head, making him blush.

"Maybe, more than just a friend?" Shikamaru said playfully. Naruto blushed even more. The deer bent down a little to take a closer look at the blonde's face. "You're really red." Shikamaru laughed. The kitsune pouted. He never really though of Sasuke to be any more than a friend. Maybe a brother but not that much more.

"It's ok, I'll keep it a secret."

He looked at the clock. It was 1:36. Shikamaru sighed. "I have to go; I promised my dad that I'll help him find some deer antler." Naruto looked up. "Ok, bye." He waved a little. Shikamaru then walked out the door, closing it with a click.

Naruto sighed. "What am I supposed to do with you?" Naruto sat there playing with his fingers a little bit and thought in silence.

After a while of thinking, the blond spoke, "What are you thinking, Sasuke?" Sasuke just breathed. Naruto laughed. "I guess you're just fighting that battle huh?" Naruto continued to talk to Sasuke. "Just keep fighting, Sasuke. I'm rooting for you."

The fox looked around. "It's a little stuffy in here, isn't it?" Of course Naruto's asking the unconscious Sasuke. "Let me open a window." He unlocked the window then opened it. A gentle breeze came in and he breathed in deeply. The birds were chirping and the sun was shining.

A blue bird landed on the window. Naruto walked over to it, sat down with his chin on his hand. He looked at it for a moment. "Hello, little bird." The bird chirped happily as a reply. The blond laughed. "Looks like someone is happy," He smiled at the bird.

The vivid, blue bird chirped again. Naruto smiled again and reached out to stroke the bird's throat. It hopped back a little before realizing that the blond was harmless. Naruto stroked its throat. Naruto smiled to himself.

'_Birds fly free. Right now Sasuke is a trapped bird, one that wants to break free of his cage. Sasuke is battling against his cage wanting to claim victory. I want him to win.' _Naruto closed his eyes. The bird chirped loudly to signal to Naruto that he was leaving. He opened his eyes and looked at the fly off, joining the rest of its friends.


	4. Light and Sound

**The Next Day**

Naruto's P.O.V

_Rrrrrrring Rrrrrrrrrrrring Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring._

What was that annoying sound?

I opened my eyes. On my bedside table was my orange alarm clock next to my white one. Even though I hear it every morning, I never really had a fixed idea about the sound. I closed my eyes again, pulling my yellow blanket over my head.

The sound kept ringing in my ears for a long time.

_Rrrrrrring Rrrrrrrrrrrring Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring._

"Uhhhhhhhhhh…"

I turned around and reached out to my clock and turned it off. I sat up and stretched.

I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and changed out of my clothes. I wore my casual clothes. I put on my white t-shirt with a swirl on the back, black pants and blue sandals, and then headed out the door, locked up and left.

Today was a nice day, warm and a few clouds were seen in the clear, blue sky.

I was headed to the hospital like usual. I looked around some stores on the way there. There were stores that sold clothes, shoes and things you can wear. Other stores sold weapons for ninja and gear for protection. Then there was the store that sold gifts. I went to take a closer look.

Naruto walked in the gift store. Almost immediately, a woman appeared and greeted him, "Hi, How may I help you?" The woman had brown hair tied in a bun that was just below her neck, she was probably a little bit taller than Sakura and looked middle aged.

"I'm just looking." Naruto answered smiling that famous smile.

"Ok then." The woman turned around to dust some jewelry boxes.

Naruto looked on the shelves and saw something eye catching, and instantly turned his attention to the object.

The blue-eyed boy walked towards a beautifully carved wooden music box. It was a soft brown with a hint of red, with emerald green leaf shaped designs on the lid. It had 4 legs that curved out at the bottom, giving it a majestic look. It also had a thin golden line that ran across the rim of the music-maker where the lid and the box meet. Brightly coloured gems were mounted on the sides of the box. The gems made it look stunning.

Naruto picked it up, carefully, examining it. He opened the box and a beautiful sound penetrated the room. It was the sound of many chimes being hit, making music.

'_Wow'_ Naruto thought as the sound entered his ears. The blond smiled. He closed his sky-coloured eyes and listened for a little longer until the song went back to the first verse.

_It was dark. Silence and stillness filled the air. _

_I looked around the cold, dark space around me. My eyelids were heavy. I close my onyx eyes, and then sat down. Somehow finding the strength to lift my head, I tilted it back, only to realize that I can't rest it on anything. My arms lifted themselves up to rest on my head. They brushed upon my raven hair that was just as dark as where I was. I open my eyes and looked down at my hands. They were shrouded with an aura that was black, yet it glows. It's like a cage that held me down. My body felt heavy; the cage fenced me in, overwhelming my mind. _

_I stood up taking in a few breaths of the dense air. After a while of thinking, I finally grasped the situation at hand, I was lost. Would I be found? I'm not sure myself. I guess it would be up to whoever saves me. I smirked to myself. I know that I wouldn't be able to get out of here on my own. I close my eyes again and get lost in my thoughts._

He opened his eyes seeing a room filled with light and sound. The boy closed the music box, "Excuse me, how much is this?"

"The music box?"

He nodded, thinking of what to do with it.

"It's 3000 yen. Would you like it to be custom made? It would add an extra 500 yen."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You can put a name or words on it."

Naruto thought for a second.

What would be meaningful to him? Would he even like it? Would it help him recover? When Sasuke wakes up, will he think anything of it?

Naruto doesn't know. Decisions like these makes Naruto think about what really matters, what represents all that. Why can't coming up with something symbolic be like choosing the flavor of ramen or ice cream? Why can't it all be easy? Then again, loving someone and forgiving them for what they did before isn't easy. Forgiving is hard. But forgiving someone you love is something you must do.

Grr… that was hard to write… but I love the dark part of it… so much fun! ^_^


	5. Nightmares

"_Hey, Naruto." A voice said in the distance._

_Naruto turned around. Nothing was there. He was sure he had heard something, but he was sure someone was playing a trick on him._

_A few minutes later Naruto heard the voice again, only this time it was hoarse and more ominous._

_Naruto turned around again and skimmed the dark forest. Again, nothing was there. _

_He heard rumors that there is a maniac in the forest. One who spends his day and nights killing for fun. There is nothing more amusing than the sight of blood trickling down the blade of the murderer. Screams can be heard throughout the night. The agony of the victims remains as their restless spirit wanders the Earth. Nothing can muffle the terrible sounds of the pained cries for help. They say that the killer was a lonesome child from the beginning. No friends, no family, no hope. Until the killer found blood. Blood spewing from the wounds of the unlucky people who just so happen to be passing by. In this crazy man's world, his sword is his best friend._

_But Naruto was sure it was just some urban legend. Nothing scary. Certainly nothing dangerous. Naruto is a strong Shinobi. He can take care of himself. No problem._

_The blond heard footsteps and heavy breathing behind him. He was starting to panic. Naruto hated being alone, especially in the dark. Anything can happen around here. He wants to be anywhere else but here._

_What really freaked him out was the fact that it was so cold and dark. The grass was wet and if he were to run, he would slip and fall into a deep puddle. The trees rustle in an uncomfortable manner. It's as if the trees told Naruto to leave. Right away. It's like they know what was going to happen. They sway back and forth as if saying "Leave."_

_Naruto heard footsteps again. The footsteps drew closer and started to get heavier. Just when Naruto couldn't take it anymore, he turned around and saw something that nearly scared the Kyuubi out of him._

_It was Yami-Naruto, face to face with normal-Naruto, clutching onto a blood-stained sword, with a menacing grin. He stepped forward. Inching closer._

_The hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up with every step that Yami-Naruto took. He stepped back, and then started to run._

_He couldn't believe that _he_ was the killer. Naruto would never want to kill innocent people. He wants to protect the ones he loves, not destroy the lives of the innocent. He kept running. Careful not to trip over anything._

_The blond ran deeper and deeper into the woods. It got darker and darker. The tress started closing in. He can still hear Yami-Naruto sprinting behind him._

_Just when Naruto thought that he got away and about to cheer in triumph, he tripped over something and fell onto the wet grass. The thing rolled on top of him_

"_Ow." Naruto clutched at his head in pain. "What was that?"_

_Naruto looked around trying to adjust to the sudden darkness. When his eyes finally adjusted, he saw something even more terrifying than the first._

_Sasuke was lying on his lap, bleeding. The wounds were very deep, he looked as if his lungs had collapsed and he was gasping for air. The wounds were slashed by a sword._

"_Sasuke!" Naruto took Sasuke into his arms and held him close to try to keep him warm._

"_How…how, could… you do this… to me?" Every word pained his insides. Sasuke held up a hand to Naruto and pushed him away._

"_I-I didn't do it! Sasuke!" Naruto felt tears well up in his eyes. "I didn't do it." He held Sasuke closer to keep himself from looking at him. If he did, he fears that he may break down. It didn't work very well. With every breath that Sasuke took, it invited Naruto to look down at him._

"_Naruto," He gasped. "You, you said… you would…bring me back. You said… you would even… br-break my bones… to do it. Well, you got… your wish" _

"_Sasuke, I, I meant… I never meant to…just, I," Naruto was crying too much to finish his sentence. "I'm gonna bring you back to the village…to get you healed." Naruto tried to lift Sasuke but was too weak from fear and pain, he fell back down._

"_It's not use…Naruto" Sasuke said sadly. "Maybe…I'll never return…to the village…with you." _

"_No, no, don't say that… I'll figure something out." He gave Sasuke a weak smile._

"_Naruto, maybe…it was just… meant to be…" And with that… he closed his eyes and his chest stopped rising and dropping._

"GAH!" Naruto sat up. He breathed heavily and looked around franticly for Sasuke.

He looked down and found him still lying on the hospital bed with the white bed sheets covering him up to his bandaged chest. Naruto gradually calmed down as he looked at Sasuke.

Naruto was still breathing really heard. "Just a dream…" He felt a tear roll down his face. "No, it was a nightmare." He continued to look at Sasuke.

Naruto was there the entire night at Sasuke's side. He thought of how Sasuke got so seriously injured and how he got back, and why he would use a genjutsu to cover his wounds.

"I would never hurt you like that, Sasuke. Never."

Gah! It's so much fun to write depressing things… I feel bad for all you people who cry from these… Gomenasai! I kinda found it scary. XD


End file.
